By Laith Gibani
May 31 2004

In response to my colleague Mr Lynch’s article about the play off lottery, I thought I’d write an article defending a system that made Paul Hart’s last full season so memorable. During 2002-2003 we were not the best team in the division. Yes we played some of the best football. Yes we had arguably the best strike force with Johnson and Harewood scoring left, right and centre. But the table doesn’t lie, and sixth position was about right for a young inexperienced side playing with confidence under an inexperienced manager. Some might say that this proves that the play off system isn’t fair, however I say quite the opposite. Forest reached sixth place on merit, however the task in front of the players was a difficult one. We had, in theory, the most difficult fixture against the third placed team, in this case, Sheffield United, who were unlucky to miss out on automatic promotion. But that is the beauty of the play off system. The team that finishes third has the best chance of reaching the final. Not only do they get to play the lowest qualifying team, they get to play the crucial second leg game at home. We all remember what happened that night in May at Bramall Lane. In a pub in central Manchester, me and my fellow trickies were planning our night out celebrating when Forest took a 2-0 lead. At the end, many were crying in their pints. At the time, I remember feeling dejected and empty. On reflection the morning after, I remember waking and feeling proud that the lads had managed to get so close. The tears of Johnno and Des will never leave my memory. However Sheffield United had their chance against a team that finished lower than them and took it. Surely this proves that the system works to the advantage of the highest placed play off team? Without the play offs, the season would have been effectively over by January. For making the football league exciting until the final day, I personally deem the play off system as a great success story.